Giants Tumble In MMQB NFL Power Rankings
How low can the New York Giants go? Well, after dropping a 20-17 decision in overtime to the Carolina Panthers, who at one time was considered the worst team in the NFL, the Giants have dropped even deeper into the lower echelon in the weekly MMQB power rankings.
The Giants, who the week prior were already on their way to the bottom at No. 26, fell four more spots to No. 30, as calls from the fan base and media pundits for the team to bench starting quarterback Daniel Jones, who has been wildly inconsistent in the current five-game losing streak, intensifies.
Conor Orr, the MMQB power rankings compiler, also takes up that argument, pondering what turn the season might take if head coach Brian Daboll were to turn to backup quarterback Drew Lock.
"The only course of action at this point, it would seem,” said Orr, “is for Daboll to rack up some wins with Drew Lock and finish the season on a positive note."
For some Giants fans, that probably isn’t good enough, given that the Giants, who now have eight losses with seven games remaining, have about as much chance of qualifying for the postseason as an ice cube has at surviving in the sun on a 90-degree day.
Many Giants fans, in fact, would rather the team tank to ensure they stay in the top three slots in next spring’s draft order.
Some believe that in addition to removing Jones, the Giants should consider removing head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen.
Giants co-owner John Mara declared that he didn’t anticipate making any changes at the top of the leadership ladder during the season or
For some, though, that’s not good enough for a franchise that has struggled to post winning seasons in 2016 and 2022.
But Orr believes that while Mara truly doesn’t want to start all over at the top, the more these losses pile up in painful fashion, the less solid Schoen and Daboll’s footing becomes.
"A painful loss follows an emergence of informed utterance that John Mara, while often declaring his coaches safe, also tends to change his mind once the tenor of the season changes," Orr said.
"While we can read into anything, my thought is that the last thing Mara wants to do is start over."
Although Daboll hasn’t announced any decisions regarding Jones just yet, it is widely expected that Daboll will finally hand Jones a clipboard while he hands the offense's keys over to Lock or Tommy DeVito.
Playing Jones at this point is a risky proposition. The Giants, while not officially eliminated from the playoff picture, are very close to having the door slammed shut in their faces.
The Giants’ biggest success would be to ensure that Jones passes his physical so the $23 million injury guarantee does not come into play next season.